Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's personal life

Several ceremonies and colorful celebrations have been held across the country to mark the National Sovereignty and Children's Day on April 23, the creation of the Turkish parliament.

"Gentlemen! We shall declare the republic tomorrow" is what modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk said on the night of Oct. 28, 1923 as he addressed lawmakers and his close brothers-in-arms. One day later, the Turkish Parliament adopted the new regime type and elected Atatürk as the first president, as lawmakers were heard shouting, "Long live the Republic!

Internationally acclaimed Turkish historian Kemal Karpat died on Feb. 20 in the United States aged 96, a Turkish official said.

Recent discussions over Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the War of Independence and the early days of the republic do not open new horizons, nor reveal new knowledge and perspectives. On the contrary, these distorted - sometimes fabricated - rumors are produced to provide ammunition to the current political and ideological fight.

Turkey and Greece are working on a new ferry line between Thessaloniki and İzmir which is expected to set sail in early 2017, drawing the countries closer together in the process. 

Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris, who has been enthusiastic in encouraging Turks to visit his city, was in Ankara for talks on the ferry line project that will carry both trucks and passengers. 

The legacy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is still bitterly contested in today's Turkey. Approaching the centenary of the republic's establishment, the process of Westernization, secularization and modernization led by Turkey's nationalist founding father still provides the reference against which various political movements - whether sympathetic or antagonistic - define themselves. 

Yesterday, Turkey commemorated Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founding father of the Turkish Republic. Both the tall man and the short man with the almond moustaches praised Atatürk's vision, naturally without using the word "Atatürk" (Father of Turks), which they dislike.